Never Leave Your Side…
by TwilightKitsune1-REBORN
Summary: Mint was on the hunt again… And Rue was only looking for her. R&R!


_**Summary:**_ Mint was on the hunt again… And Rue was only looking for her.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own any thing affiliated with _Threads of Fate_. I am making no profit off of this story and this story was only posted for the soul enjoyment of fellow _Threads of Fate_ fans. Also any monsters NOT from the game are of my own creation and I DO NOT want them to be copied.

_**Warnings:**_ AU, One-Shot…  
_…You Have Been Warned…_

_**Never Leave Your Side…  
**__By:TwilightKitsune1-REBORN_

The snow drifted through the air, catching on the wind that blew harshly and ripped through ones skin making it feel as though you had walked into a tundra. It piled on the ground, enough to cover a persons feet with it, and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. The sun was blocked out by the grey clouds that hung high in the sky, shielding the ground, animals, and people, from any form of warmth they could gather easily. Any trees that were seen were already long since frozen over, their branches covered by snow and ice, as they creaked as they bent in the strong winds. It was unwise for a person to make a trek in this weather, unwise… but not unheard of. That is exactly what she was doing.

"One foot in front of the other!" Mint mumbled to herself as she pulled her insolated jacket tighter to her. She continued to mumble those words to herself as she walked, those words becoming her mantra of strength and endurance. '_Just gotta find a cave_…_ I think I'm gonna freeze soon_.' Mint thought to herself while mumbling her mantra and catching herself for the umpteenth time from falling over some hidden object underneath the snow her foot had painfully found.

Mint's hoola-hoops shook threateningly on her bag causing her to stop to check their latching. '_Princesses aren't made for frozen jaunts in the frozen wastelands_!' She thought miserably as she felt the cold wind pierce through her jacket just as she heard a tree branch above her give a threatening sound. "What?" Looking up to see what was happening her vision was suddenly covered by snow that fell from quite a height above her and landed directly on her. "WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS!" Mint cried as she tried to scrabble out of the snow pile she was now in, though it was difficult due to her numbing fingers.

As she stood up and began to dust the snow, ice, and broken branch pieces off herself Mint suddenly heard a snarl. Lifting her head slowly she hoped silently that she had imagined it and it had just been the wind. Turning her head to look she found nothing and let a breath of relief escape her lips until a warm liquid that was unmistakably drool land on her shoulder. "Crap…" Was all she could say as she lifted her eyes and found a Snow Demon **(1)** sitting on the tree that had just dropped the snow on her.

As soon as she spotted it, her eyes connecting with its yellow-black eyes, it cried out showing its sharp, razor like fangs, and spraying more saliva everywhere. It dug in its black claws, which were partially hidden by its lengthy and matted white fur, into the bark of the tree before it pushed off and leapt at her. "I guess it's time to… warm… up?" Mint said as she reached behind herself to grab her hoops and found nothing.

Jumping back she just barely missed the Snow Demons claws by inches as they dug themselves into the snow and earth. As Mint regained her footing she quickly looked around to try and find where her hoops had fallen and then recalled, "The snow!" and quickly looked to the pile that sat underneath the tree that the Snow Demon had maneuvered itself between and saw them poking out slightly. "Double crap!" Mint cursed as the Snow Demon snarled again and prepared for another charge.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Rue wondered to himself silently how long he had been on her trail as he waded through the harsh weather of this area. He knew he was catching up to Mint and part of him wondered what he would do when he caught up; what he would say, how she would even react to him. He had a smile playing on his lips as he remembered the first time they had met, how she hadn't trusted him, how she tried to take all the "treasure" for herself, and had just been a show off in general. "Always…" He mumbled to himself but he knew that all had been for show because she was lonely and he could understand something in that.

The wind howled again as another burst of snow blew past him and he couldn't help but wonder what had even brought her to this place. She had never really been partial to the colder elements, he could tell that just by her dressing, how she behaved, and her magic's of choice. She was one that stuck to the warmer places, the places people would gather, or where treasure hide deep in hidden tombs; not frozen wastelands… As he thought this he heard a blood curdling scream in the wind and he felt his heart clench painfully in his chest as he burst into a full run in the direction towards the cry.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Again Mint dodged the Snow Demon's claws but she was wearing down from the cold, and the snow was slowing her movements and numbing her limbs making it difficult to stay on them. She shivered as she looked back at the smirking Snow Demon. "Demon… Guess you got that name for good reason." Mint said as it charged at her again.

This time however she was to slow, her arm had been caught by those black claws and they dug in deep, piercing her insulated jacket and clothing to meet flesh. She cried out in pain and as it tried to drag her back toward its opening maw. She quickly unhooked her jacket and leapt free from her only form of warmth for her body; skidding to a halt paces away from the Snow Demon's snarling form. As Mint panted, she could feel some warmth beginning to build and freeze over in the cold where the demon's claws had made contact with her skin. Taking a moment to look down, she found her shoulder had been ripped into but it wasn't a serious injury a the moment, before looking back at the creature who had ripped her jacked to pieces and was now licking its blood stained claws and roaring with renewed vigor.

"Alright… I need to try to… move faster… Got it." Mint said to herself as she looked to her hoola-hoops that still lay buried underneath the snow. '_Those will definitely change things if I can get to them_.' Mint thought as she looked back to her main problem when she heard something. Though this time she was far to slow to move and this time she had nothing to protect her and all she could do as she tried to dodge and felt a blinding pain in her back was scream.

She felt her body fly through the air by her momentum and also by the force of the attack. As it stopped she felt it crumple on the ground and snow, she felt more of that warm that she felt earlier bubble up on her back. However this time there was more, it felt worse and she didn't want to really think about as she pushed herself up and looked back at the Demon who had stopped again and was licking its claws. However there was a deference from before, his once white fur mane was now splotched with red bits of blood.

"Great… Just great." Mint mumbled to herself as she began the slow process of pushing herself up and then noticed where she had landed. "Wonderful!" she snickered at her lick as she gripped her hoops and turned in time to see the demon realizing its error and rushing the prone form of Mint. "To late you MONSTER!" Mint cried as she sent a fire spell out as strong as she could bear with her body in the shape it was in.

She could feel the warmth build inside her and the move to her hands before shooting out through the spinning hoops. The brilliant flames leapt though the air, danced with the snow that seemed to welcome it as an old friend before disappearing in its overwhelming heat, and then encircled the crying and fearful demon. It yelped and shouted and tried to run from the flam but where ever it turned there were flames that Mint had formed to entrap it. "Not so tough now… are you?" Mint said as her voice wavered with exhaustion and weakness. "Teaches you not to mess wi… with this… this traveler huh." She could feel her eyes beginning to grow heavy.

"MINT!" a voice cried in the haze as her ears seemed to become stuffed with snow somehow?

Turning her head she looked to see a figured running towards her but they were a blur. Part of her wondered when she had fully fallen on the ground as she stared at the figured coming closer and saw them pull a giant blade out from behind them that they had been carrying. "Kinda like Rue… I wonder… how he's… doing…?" she whispered as she finally gave way to her closing eyes and that unrelenting oblivion that was calling her.

**XxXxXxXxX**

There was fire ahead of him, he knew she was close and that she was fighting a monster out here, and that both made him happy and fearful. The scream still resonated in his ears even with the wind howling, even with him running against it, he could still hear it, and if it had been Mint something was terribly wrong. The blaze flickered in a way he had never seen before, and he couldn't help but speed up a bit and then he saw it, and he could swear his heart nearly stopped even though his feet moved faster then he had in a long time. She was on the ground and passing out quickly due to the effort of holding her magic, there was blood, and she was pinning and angering a Snow Demon. "MINT!" He cried to try and keep her conscious, to let her know he was here.

He saw her head turn towards his cry and he saw her pale face and fear cut into him and froze him far worse then the wind or snow had. He was sure now, that blood was her blood, and she was pushing her limits. He pulled his blade out and as he did he saw her lips move and wished he could have heard what she was saying but before another thought pass through his mind her eyes closed fully and her hoops fell. "MINT! STAY AWAKE MINT!" Rue cried as he ran towards her and as he was almost at her side he heard the outraged cry of the Snow Demon and then remembered. "Damnit!" He cried as he quickly intercepted the monster as it rushed towards Mint's prone body.

As it lifted its clawed mitt Rue quickly countered it with his blade and pushed it back away from Mint. As he drove it back he saw its rage as it spit and snarled at the new comer in this battle that had obviously been an easy one for it. As Rue thought of that he felt his own rage and quickly threw the beast back farther and did a spin the left the beast open and Rue's blade met its belly. It cried in pain and misery as it fell backwards and it stopped for a moment as it looked at Rue and he just stood there looking down on it. The Snow Demon cried again before leaping and throwing snow into Rue's face as well as using the winds to its advantage momentarily blinding Rue. When Rue finally cleared his eyes and could see again the beast was gone, but the carnage remand.

Only taking a moment to look around to check the area, as well as the trees, he ran back to Mint. "Mint…" He said quietly as he checked for a pulse and to his relief found one. "What do you think you're doing coming out here?" he reprimanded the unconscious girl lifting her up into his arms. "Well I guess now that I found you I'll take of this mess first." He mumbled to himself and started off in look of a shelter knowing he needed to tend to her wounds and warm her body, or else she may not have a pulse for long.

**XxXxXxXxX**

It was the scent and sound of the crackling fire that came to her senses first. That and the fact that her body was warm and not frozen solid like she was half expecting, but she also felt the pain and soreness that sunk deep into her body. '_Guess I am alive then_.' She thought with glee and tried to open her heavy eyes to see who her rescuer was. It took a few tried to get them open and a few moments afterwards for them to get the blur out of them and adjust to the light of the cave that she was apparently in. "A cave?" She whispered to herself with a smile before turning her head to look around.

It was small, and didn't have much except for rocks. Not even plant life thrived in this cave due to the weather. However there were bits of ice and water here and there, and the walls seemed different colors due to the weather changes of the area. It was also obvious that many monsters fought over this cave for shelter with how much damage that was apparent on the walls. The ground, though cold, was just dirt frozen over.

As she looked around her eyes landed on her silver haired savior who was currently dozing by the fire. As she looked at him she felt her smile grow and felt her body heat up by a fraction as she recognized him. "Rue?" She whispered.

It was her whisper of his name that seemed to call him back to the waking world. As his eyes began to open he turned his head to look at her and smiled himself. "Your awake!" he said with joy and rushed to her side pushing her back down as she tried to sit up. "You got a bad injury on your back, you should probably stay lying down.

"Well that explains why I'm laying on my stomach… So you were the one who saved me?"

"Yeah—"

"What are you doing here Rue? Shouldn't you be with Claire and starting that new life living happily ever after with her! I mean we… You worked so hard to get her back."

Rue looked away before looking back to Mint and meeting her eyes. "I owed Claire so much for saving me from myself back when I had no one, back when I was lost, but that's all changed for me and she understands that. She knows and now she is taking care of Ruenis who is another doll of Valen's and is just as lost in this world as I had been. Even if he does know his purpose…"

"But that doesn't explain why you're here."

"Because this is my place."

His words seemed so simple, so easy, so… right that Mint actually had to blink at him. "In this cave?"

Rue laughed for a second and actually felt his tension leave his body. "At the moment, yes. After that, where ever you go."

"So your saying—"

"I'm never leaving your side again Mint. That is where my place is."

Mint felt a blush build on her cheeks and she had to look away from Rue and then couldn't help but look back at him. "So… Your staying by my side?"

"Yes."

Those words broke her and now she knew there was a blush on her cheeks so she had to look away before he saw. "Idiot… Your supposed to be more shy about it!" she mumbled as she looked at the wall on the other side. "You are also supposed to wait till I can sit up!"

Rue smiled as he looked at her and took her hand. "I'm not going anywhere Mint so we can do this again when you can sit up if you want."

"Idiot." Was all Mint could mumble out as she gripped his hand that held hers and couldn't help but feel happier then she had ever been.

_**The End…**_

_A/N:_ So there is yet another _Threads of Fate_ Fanfiction. I was tempted to make this a sad, tear jerker but it is the holidays… PLUS I just felt like writing a happy ending… It has been some time since I did a happy ending since I generally stand on the maybe's, could be's, never be's, or death scenes for my stories. I know this story is a bit choppy but I was showing both Rue and Mint POV's as close to each other as I could to the point of when they found each other. Also as for the game ending I know when Ruenis was put in Rue and Mint left together for another adventure but I put that out of this story because, well it didn't fit the story here now did it?

Oh also just to let you guys know I am also in a hurry and haven't had the chance to go back over this story since I'm in a rush to work on my _Harry Potter_ Christmas story so there may be a few mistakes but I should be able to fix them once I post that story. If you just give me a bit I'll be back over this one and fix it up a bit.

I hope you guys liked it, and as always R&R!

**(1)** Snow Demon – _Original monster – _Description: yellow-black eyes. Covered in white, matted fur. Height, 6'-7'. Agile, monkey like. Carnivorous. Teeth are shark like (multiple rows) and razor sharp. Black claws, unbreakable and are used like a part of there hands. Live mainly in snow regions so to hide and ambush pray. Can go day's with out eating, however the longer they go the more ferocious they attack. They are somewhat smart and wait until perfect times to attack following their pray and learning. When they smell blood they go into something like a frenzy. They NEVER travel in packs, only gathering in mating season.


End file.
